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During 2015, artist and activist Gustav Metzger embarked on one of his last major projects. Famed for pioneering self-destructive creations, Metzger had dedicated his life to addressing societal issues from nuclear disarmament to vegetarianism. Through a short video message, he requested support for a global day of action to celebrate the natural world.

“This is my appeal for your involvement in this worldwide call for a day of action to commemorate our planet on November 4th, 2015,” he declared, inviting cultural workers to oppose the continuing disappearance of living beings. “Our responsibility is to help the public recall of the diversity and intricacy in nature … and by doing so the arts will venture into realms that are inherently creative.”

The Creation of Nature Remembrance

And so Remember Nature was born, a day when cultural practitioners throughout Britain created responses to the escalating planetary emergency. One of the curators, who worked closely with Metzger in his last days, remembers his drive for action. “There was a strong sense of urgency for him at the final chapter,” she says. “My advice was – we must act now. We shouldn’t hold back for sponsorship or for anyone to approve this. We should proceed.”

After Ten Years

A decade on, the project may not have incited the mass movement across the arts that Metzger had envisioned, but organizers feel its legacy can still be felt in campaigns like Culture Declares and climate activism networks, as well as in how artists approach the eco-friendliness of their methods. This is the reason she is restaging it to commemorate its decade milestone. Among the featured creators taking part currently are A Man Called Adam and Anya Gallaccio. Each has produced imagery, shared messages, and developed pieces set to be revealed on November 4, 2025.

Cultivating Awareness

In conversation with the artist, she is working outdoors in the countryside, helping plant apple trees that will develop into a coiled garden. Engaging schoolchildren, her project is part creative piece and part learning experience. She describes, the planning and planting sessions have already included learning about measurements (measuring out the planting intervals), science (exploring the hereditary traits), and history (researching the backgrounds of how distinct varieties came to the UK).

A lot of the apples were picked because they’ve got humorous titles such as the other unusual varieties. We have one apple that ‘bleeds’ scarcolored sap

“A lot of the apples were selected because they’ve got amusing labels such as the other unusual varieties,” says Gallaccio. “We have one apple that produces scarlet-colored sap. Every one carries stories behind them. The ancient variety was brought over by the Romans. The Flower of Kent is the apple that fell from a tree and struck the scientist’s head.”

Gallaccio wanted the children to be more thoughtfully connected of the environment and the control we have over it. “In their experience, apples were just things you find in a supermarket, so I was urging them, on their next shopping trip, to look on the bag and see their names and the source. Perhaps it indicates Kent!”

Cultural Projects Across the Country

At the capital, a participant’s work about extinction will engage visitors looking through a major gallery on a quest to find the seven major glaciers that have been disappeared in the past decade. Each glacier will be drawn on the gallery’s windows and walls using invisible ink. Each discovery, a alert will occur and a recitation will be performed to remember that individual formation.

At the same time, up in another location, an artist will be putting on a public show about our disconnection from the land, as well as organizing a shared meal, made using organic, local produce. Over in Newcastle, a participant is streaming her musical project, in which community vocalists begin a project to use music to heal flora in a local park.

Youth Perspectives

Like Gallaccio, Cornelia Parker will be engaging schoolchildren – on the day itself she is hoping to decorate Cambridge’s Kettle’s Yard in youth creations that express their dreams and worries for the future. “Kids’ art are impactful because they’re not as restricted as adults’,” she says in her public appeal. “The contributions of youth to the world is something truly special and hopefully it will inspire a feeling of duty from everyone. Kids are unbiased. They have concerns for tomorrow. But it isn’t meant to be about fear – it should be about hope and making sure that they see a better world.”

Tributes and Thoughts

Paul Harfleet’s work also resonates for children. With a background in performance, his Birds Can Fly involves drawing birds and then performing as birds – and for Remember Nature day he is planning to tackle Liverpool’s famous Liver bird. He is also conducting a itinerant journey of the city, stopping at places that have been part of his long-term work over the last two decades. This endeavor started after he experienced several events of discrimination on a single day. To counter this, Harfleet decided to place a bloom at the site of each occurrence and photograph it – the project has since expanded to include incidents experienced by other people across the world. “The flowers remain there but they are temporary,” says Harfleet. “Apparently wildlife enjoys them, so they’re a ephemeral memorial.”

The artist selected the bloom not just for the obvious reason – it has long been a slur – but also because its etymology comes from the French verb, penser, to think. “People connected it with a man who is thoughtful, and that, of course, is a terrible thing,” he says.

The plan on Remember Nature day is to sow flowers at fresh spots and also replant flowers in places he has previously memorialised, all the while conversing with those on the guided walk about the events and his memories of them. “There’s been quite a few following earlier installations,” he says sadly.

Progressing Optimistically

He desires his work – and